Petrified Forest National Park -- Giant Logs Trail (4-15-17)

The Giant Logs Trail is the second of two short hikes we took during our brief visit to Petrified Forest National Park. Located near the south entrance to the park, the trail is adjacent to the wonderful Rainbow Forest Museum which houses a fascinating variety of displays regarding the natural history of the area. The trail itself meanders for about a half-mile through, as its name suggests, some of the larger specimens of petrified wood in the park. The centerpiece of the path is a log named 'Old Faithful', a piece of petrified wood some 35-feet in length and measuring 10-feet across at its base. It's estimated that Old Faithful weighs in at around 44 tons! The colorful variety of 'wood' seen along this hike was also quite incredible, I would include this as a must-do hike if your visiting the park.

Petrified Forest National Park is located in northeastern Arizona and is home to a fantastic landscape marked by desert buttes, mesas, badlands, and of course huge concentrations of ancient petrified wood. The park encompasses some 146,000-acres (230 sq. mi.) and was originally established as a National Monument in 1906 through the Antiquities Act signed by President Theodore Roosevelt. Over the intervening years much of the parks infrastructure was built through the efforts of the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Monument received National Park status in 1962.

Though rich in natural and cultural history, the main attraction of the park are the huge numbers of ancient petrified logs which literally cover the landscape in the southern sections of the park. These logs are actually fossils, remnants of trees which grew in the area some 225 million years ago. The cause of their formation is actually quite interesting. Back in the time in which the landscape here was covered in huge forests some of the trees fell in river channels and were subsequently buried in silica-rich sediments containing volcanic ash. Over the eons this silica ever so slowly replaced the organic materials contained in the logs and replaced them with quartz crystals containing numerous other trace elements resulting in what we call petrified wood. The colors of these preserved logs are a result of the types of the trace minerals which they contain. The bright reds, oranges, and yellows are primarily caused by concentrations of iron and manganese while blue and green wood is created by traces of cobalt, chromium, and copper.

So, come on along with us on a short but fascinating walk through a unique landscape of ancient beauty. It was a fitting conclusion to our visit of this amazingly unique National Park. As always...ENJOY!

Petrified Forest National Park -- Giant Logs Trail (4-15-17)

The short loop we did at Giant Logs as displayed by the map at the trailhead...

Rainbow Forest Museum

Of the two visitor centers we visited in the park the Rainbow Forest Museum had, by far, the nicest displays and best information. Here you can learn how the petrified forest was formed, see fantastic displays of petrified wood, and see reconstructed skeletons of ancient creatures which once roamed the landscape here...

Giant Logs Trailhead

Like the Crystal Forest Trail we did earlier, the Giant Logs Trail is paved and involves relatively little elevation change making it suitable for just about anyone...

Giant Logs Trail

A handful of large logs sitting alongside the trail at the beginning of our walk...

Giant Logs Trail

As the name of the trail suggests, the specimens of petrified wood here were at once notable for their impressive size...

Mather Plaque

A short distance in we passed the monument to Stephen T. Mather, who helped found and served as first Director of the National Park Service...

Giant Logs Trail

An open ledge containing more huge petrified logs...

Giant Logs Trail

A landscape of mesas, desert grass, and ancient petrified logs...

Old Faithful

About halfway along the loop we reached 'Old Faithful', the largest petrified log in the National Park. At 35-feet in length and measuring 10-feet across at its base, Old Faithful weighs in at an estimated 44-tons! In 1962 the log was struck by lightning, splitting the base. You can see in the lower left of this shot the cement which was placed to support the broken base of the log. Under current NPS philosophy this 'reconstruction' of the log never would have taken place as natural changes are now allowed to occur free from human intervention...

Old Faithful

About halfway along the loop we reached 'Old Faithful', the largest petrified log in the National Park. At 35-feet in length and measuring 10-feet across at its base, Old Faithful weighs in at an estimated 44-tons! In 1962 the log was struck by lightning, splitting the base. You can see in the lower left of this shot the cement which was placed to support the broken base of the log. Under current NPS philosophy this 'reconstruction' of the log never would have taken place as natural changes are now allowed to occur free from human intervention...

Old Faithful

About halfway along the loop we reached 'Old Faithful', the largest petrified log in the National Park. At 35-feet in length and measuring 10-feet across at its base, Old Faithful weighs in at an estimated 44-tons! In 1962 the log was struck by lightning, splitting the base. You can see in the lower left of this shot the cement which was placed to support the broken base of the log. Under current NPS philosophy this 'reconstruction' of the log never would have taken place as natural changes are now allowed to occur free from human intervention...

Giant Logs Trail

Looking towards the Rainbow Forest Museum from in front of Old Faithful...

Giant Logs Trail

Taking my turn alongside another large log by the trail...

Giant Logs Trail

Beyond Old Faithful the terrain gets a bit more hilly...

Giant Logs Trail

A large collection of petrified wood lays in a shallow ravine alongside the trail on the southern half of the loop...

Giant Logs Trail

Why go around when you can go over...I love it...

Giant Logs Trail

Looking across the southern part of the National Park from the south side of the loop. If you blow this shot up and look closely at the horizon just right of center you can see Agate House. This is a partially reconstructed dwelling built out of petrified wood by ancestral Puebloan people between 700-1000 years ago. You can reach it via a 2-mile round-trip walk from the Rainbow Forest Museum but, unfortunately, we didn't have time for it on this visit...

Giant Logs Trail

Another shot looking generally south and east from the south side of the loop. Again, you can see Agate House (described in the previous shot) on the horizon just to the left of center if you blow up the photo...

Giant Logs Trail

A panorama of the Giant Logs area and the Rainbow Forest Museum from the south side of the loop...

Giant Logs Trail

Descending through a small valley choked with ancient 'wood'...

Giant Logs Trail

A brilliant specimen of petrified wood. The reds, pinks, and yellows tell that iron oxides and manganese oxides were the minerals which formed this log...

Giant Logs Trail

Looking back up at the Giant Logs area (with Old Faithful poking in on the upper left) just before returning to the Rainbow Forest Museum...

Giant Logs Trailhead

Closing the loop alongside yet another massive petrified log. Despite its short length, this had been a fascinating and beautiful trail...